Machine for delivering stamps, labels, tickets, and the like.



J. W. SMALL. MACHINE FOR DELIVERING STAMPS, LABELS, TICKETS, AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16, 1912.

1,043,737, Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

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- MACHINE FOR DELIVERING STAMPS, LABELS, TICKETS, AND THE LIKE. A

APPLICATION FILED MAR.16, 1912. 1,043,737 Patented N0v.5, 1912.

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. 70 Q 7/ 73 66 7' 4 3 i I": u, I [,g- 70 7 1 I 66 46 I; -J4 6'4 43 J7 y I I 50 uvvu'vuu W V 43 Q v 57 0'8 I A JAMES WILEY SMALL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOB DELIVERING STAMPS, LABELS, TICKETS, AND IRE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

Original application filed October 20, 1911, Serial No. 655,672. Divided and this applicationflled March 16, 1912. Serial No. 684,187.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES lV LEY SMALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Delivering Stamps, Labels, Tickets, and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

In machines for aflixing stamps or labels and for vending stamps or tickets, the stamps, tickets, or the like are usually printed on a continuous strip of paper or other suitable material which is done up in the form of a roll when placed in the machine and the units of this strip are severed one at a time andv delivered in proper position, accordingly as they are to be aiiixed or to be taken by the. purchaser. One great objection that has heretofore existed in machines of this class as'heretofore constructed is that they do not sever the strip accurately upon the lines upon which it is intended to be severed, z. 6., .midway between the successive imprints,or stamps or tickets proper.

T his inaccuracy though slight in a single instance, 1f augmented by successive operations of the machine, becomes considerable with the result that the strip will be severed through the imprints thereon, or the stamps or tickets. This inaccuracy may be due to any of a number of causes which result in contraction or expansion or distortion of the length of the strip, as, for example, shrinkage due to the drying of the ink with which the printing is done, atmospheric changes, temperature or humidity, and particularly to the buckling of that part of the strip which intervenes between tially to the cutting plane of the cutting.

blade. Another objection is that they leave a stamp or ticket normally protruding from the machine, so that it may be grasped and torn off without operating the machine which is an objection, to overcome which is another object of the invention.

Other objects of the invention are generallystated to provide an improved machine of the class described.

For the purposes of this application I illustrate the invention as applied to a stamp afiixer, but have not fully shown the details in the construction of aflixing mechanism because it. is made the subject ofanbotherv application which was filed October 20, 1911, Serial No. 655,672, and ofwhich the present application is a division.

The invention consists in the features of novelty that are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings,

which are made a part of this specification and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, full size, of a stamp aiiixer embodying the invention, with the near side plate of the casing omitted. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof with the top of the casing omitted. Fig. 3 is a side elevaion on a smaller scale of a portable stamp aliixer embodying the invention. Fig. 4 is a 7 vertical section showing some of the parts on an enlarged scale and in the positions which they occupy when the feed dogs are at the limit of their forward movement.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation 9f some of the parts shown in Fig. 4 when in the positions last above stated. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a block to which the feed dogs are jointed. Fig. 7 is. a perspective view of a spring-metal plate having comb-like teeth which form individual springs for engaging the respective feed dogs.

The improved machine has a suitable frame or casing several parts of which will be designated by reference numerals as oocasion requires.

The top, 1, of the casing has an opening through which passes, freely, the stem, 2, of the plunger, having at its upper end a knob or handle, 3, which may be grasped for moving the plunger vertically or for moving the entire afi'ixer bodily from place to place. To the lower end of the plunger is permanently secured a block, 6, WhlCll will hereinagfter be called the foot, or presserfoot. The foot fits snugly between the sides, 7, of the casing whereby said sides act as guides, and the foot is further-guided by studs or pins, 8, which project from its opposite ger' while their upper sides and occupy vertical slots, ,9, formed in the sides, 7, the slots being extended downward far enough to permit of the ample downward movement of the foot while they terminate at their upper ends in positions to form stops for linutingthe upward movement.

The plungerfas a whole, is, as already intimated, movable vertically, its downward movement'being produced by pressure upon the knob, 3, and its upward movement by one or more coiled s rin ,10, the lower ends of which are secure to t e foot of the p1unends are secured to the top of the casing. The foot is provided on its under side with a facing of soft rub her, 32, having downwardly presentedprojections, 33', said facing being secured by screws or other suitable means to a plate, 34, which,'in turn, is secured to the under side of the block, 6. t

For cuttin the stamps, labels,tickets or other units rom the strip, one at a time, a blade, 36, is secured to the rear side of the block, 6, and this blade cotiperates with a le er blade, 37, secured at the bottom, 38, o the casing. The cutting edge of the knife, 36, is located some distance above the extreme lower surfaces of the projections, 33, so that the projections will engage one side of the stamp slightly in advance of its engagement by the blade, 36, so that by the time the stamp is completely severed and falls on to the article to be stamped, the projections will be in position to again engage it and press it firmly on to the article.

The stamps,-labels, tickets or the like, 39,

are printed upon'a continuous strip which is rolled. upon a cylinder, 40, having trunnions, 41, which occupy notches, 42, in the parallel sides,43,0f a removable stamp rack, said sides being rigidly connected by a tierod, 44. The sides, 43, bear and are adapted to 'slide upon the bottom, 38, of the casing and they fit snugly between the sides, 7,

a of the casing so that the stamp rack and its accessories may be easily drawn out and inserted. It is held against vertical movement by a secured to t e inner faces of the sides, 7, respectively, and also close the notches, 42,

, so as to prevent the escape of the trunnions,

41. The inward movement of the stamp rack is limited by stops, 46, which engage the sides, 43, and said stops may consist of flanges which are integral with the plate of which the leger blade, 37, is made and are suitably secured to the sides of the casing. The stamp rack carries a strip race throu h which the strip isiconduc ed from the ro l, 39, to the cutter. This strip race, has a. curved bottom, 47, the edges of'which are permanently secured to the sides, 43. The bottom extends forward beyond the sides of the rack, \and terminates with its upper air of blocks, 45, which are side flush with the leger blade and its top side is provided with a pluralitv of grooves,

48, resulting in a plurality of ribs, 49, upon' which the stamps rest, directly. The sides of the'unit strip are confined and held down upon the outermost ribs, 49, of the bottom by tongues, 50, projecting from a sheet metal blade, 51, secured to the sides, 43, through the medium of angularly disposed portions, 52, so'that 'as the unit stri passes along the race it is prevented from iiuckling or bending.

The unit strip is advanced along the race a distance equal to the width of one stamp or other unit at each 0 eration of the machine by nieans of feed ogs, 53, all of which are pivotally connected to and carried by a block, 54,-which is immovably secured to the lower end of a swinging or oscillating arm, 55, the upper end of WlllCh moves about a screw, 56, supported by the casing. The

block, 54, may be secured to the swinging arm by a binding screw or bolt, 57, assing through a perforation, 58, formed tirough the block from side to side, and the dogs are pivotally mounted upon this screw so as to be independently movable toward and from the unitstrip, or its race. In order to-permit this and at the same time limit the downward movement of the dogs,toward the strip race, they are provided with slots, 59, through which pass a stop pin, 60, carried by the block. In order to properly and easily space the dogs apart the block is' provided on its under side with a plurality of cuts or grooves, 61, each of which is occupied by one of the dogs and in order to press the toes of the dogs downward with a yielding force, each of them is provided near its pivoted end with a hi or finger, 65, providing a shoulder whic I is engaged by a delicate sprin tongue, 66, all of said tongues being 'integra and formed by cutting a series of notches in a spring-plate, 67, secured to the top side of the block, 54.

Each of the stamps is separated from the next of the strip by a line of perforations, 68, the diameter or extreme width of each of which perforations is about equal to the distance between each erforation and the next. The do s are a so spaced at equal distances apart ut not at the same distances apart as are the perforations of the strip. The object of this difierence in the spacing of the perforations and the dogs is to insure the entering of at least one or more of the dogs into at least one or more of the perforations, or, conversely, to insure that all of thedo shall not bear upon the upper surface 0 the stamp strip between the perforations, without anyof the dogs entering any of the perforations, because, in this event, the do s would advance without advancing the strip.

The object in providing the. bottom of the strip race with the grooves, 48, and resulting ribs, 49, is to insure a firm taking hold of the unit strip by the dogs. The paper upon which the stamps or the like are printed is very thin and it is manifest that if the.

dogs came in contact with the upper surface of the bottom of the race immediately at the plane of the under surface of the strip, the dogs would have but little purupper surface ofthe bottom of the race with grooves beneath the dogs, the toes of the dogs will pass completely through the stamp strip'and downward below it, thus giving it a firm purchase.

For swinging or oscillating the arm, 55, and advancing the dogs, the arm is provided with a groove, 69, resulting in cams at its opposite sides and this groove is occupied by a pin or stud, 7 0, carried by an arm, 71, fixedly secured to the block, 6. It will be remembered that the block, 6, movable with the plunger as a whole, is confined to a strictly vertical rectilinear movement. This being so, the upper portions, 72, of the cam slot being vertical .the pin will have no tendency to move the arm until it reaches the inclined portion, 73, of the slot. The pin, 70, will then engage the cam surface, 73, at the lower, front side of an inclined portion of the cam slot and will swing the lower end of the arm forward thus advancing the dogs. in the normal positions of the parts as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the toes of the 35. dogs will rest upon the surface of the second stamp or other unit, or, in other words, the stamp or unit adjacent with the end stamp of the strip. As the dogs advance from this position they will come to the line of perforations, 68, between the first and second stamps and one or more of the dogs will enter one or more of said perforations and engage the rear side of the first stamp. The continuedforward movement .of the iogs will advance the stamp strip until the pin, 70, reaches the bottom of the inclined portion, 73, of the slot. This will advance the first stamp entirely past the vertical plane of the cutting edge of the leger blade so that the center of the line of perforations between the first and second stamps will be exactly in said plane, with the dogs projecting slightly beyond it so as to be within the path of the knife, 36, as shown in Fig. 4. 5 As the pin, 70, continues downward from this position it will enter the bottom portion, 74, of the cam slot, which is inclined downward and forward slightly from the vertical. The pin, 70, will then engage the cam surface at the rear side of the portion,

74, of the slot and move the lower end of thearm backward, thus withdrawing the toes of the dogs from the path of the knife, 36.

The plunger will then continue downward W5 and sever the first stamp, allowing it to drop chase upon the strip but by providing the.

upon the article to which it is to be afiixed after which the elastic projections, 33, will the dogs to engage the stri as near the end as possible. It is mani est that if two stamps intervene between the point of engagement of the dogs and the cutter, the strip will have a greater tendency to buckle than where the dogs directly engage the first stamp. In the one instance, one stam must push another before it, with the weakened line resulting from the perforations in tervening, while in the other instance, the pressure is applied directly to the stamp to be delivered.

It'will be observed that the range of the to and fro movement of the dogs is greater than the width of a single stamp and this causes the dogs to be retracted far enough to insure their engagement with the perforations of the stamp strip.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a'machi'ne of the class described, the

combination with a pair of cutting blades and means for opening and closing them, of mechanism for feeding thereto, step by step, a strip comprising a number of units to be separated, said feeding mechanism having a dog, and mechanism for reciprocating it, said reciprocating mechanism having means for advancing the dog until its toe reaches the cutting plane of the blades and means for retracting it, from said plane, the means for opening and closing the blades and the means for advancing and retractin the dog being so constructed, arranged and timed that the dog is advanced during the closing movement of the blades.

2. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a pair of cutting blades and means for opening and closing them, of

mechanism for feeding thereto, step by step,

a strip comprising a number of units to be separated, said feeding mechanism having a dog and mechanism for reciprocating it,said reciprocating mechanism having means for advancing the toe of the dog until it passes the cutting plane of the blades and means for retract-ing the dog, the means for opening and closing the blades and the means for advancing and retracting the dog being so constructed, arranged and timed that the toe of the dog is both projected beyond and retracted from the plane of the blades during the closing movement of the blades.

3. In a device of the class described, the

' for advancing and partially retracting combination with a pair of cutting lolades' and means for o ening and closing them, of

mechanism for eeding thereto, step by step, a strip comprisin a number of units to be severed, said fee ing mechanism having a dog adapted to engage said strip, and mealris dog during the closing movement 0 the blades, said means having a cam rovided with a surface which advances the 0g until its toe projects beyond the cutting plane of Y the blades and a surface which withdraws its toe. from said cutting plane before the blades are closed. a

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cutter and means for operating it, of mechanism for feeding thereto, step by step, a strip comprising a number of units, each separated from the next by a row of perforations, said feeding JAMES WILEY SMALL.

Witnesses:

-L. M. HOPKINS, F. R. EDWARDS. 

